What do you think?
Rate this book
All in the Day's Riding
All in the Day's Riding by Will James in Hardcover.
Unknown Binding
First published November 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Will James
113 books38 followersWill James (1892-1942), artist and writer of the American West, was born Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault. It was during his creative years everyone grew to know him as Will James. During the next several years, he drifted, worked at several jobs, was briefly jailed for cattle rustling, served in the army, and began selling his sketches and in 1922 sold his first writing, Bucking Horse Riders. The sale of several books followed.
An artist and author of books about the American west and, in particular, horses, Will James wrote the 1926 book "Smoky the Cowhorse". It was awarded the John Newbery Medal in 1927, and remains in print to this day. Several movie adaptations of the story have been created, including a 1933 version that included Will James himself as the narrator.
His fictionalized autobiography, Lone Cowboy, was written in 1930. He also wrote Home Ranch (1935) and he wrote his last book, The American Cowboy, in 1942. In all, he wrote and illustrated 23 books.
In 1991, Will James was named a member of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.
An artist and author of books about the American west and, in particular, horses, Will James wrote the 1926 book "Smoky the Cowhorse". It was awarded the John Newbery Medal in 1927, and remains in print to this day. Several movie adaptations of the story have been created, including a 1933 version that included Will James himself as the narrator.
His fictionalized autobiography, Lone Cowboy, was written in 1930. He also wrote Home Ranch (1935) and he wrote his last book, The American Cowboy, in 1942. In all, he wrote and illustrated 23 books.
In 1991, Will James was named a member of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 29, 2024
Sweet stories of bygone days.
April 9, 2012
This wonderful collection of autobiographical essays and short fiction (not always easy to tell apart) will please any real-cowboy fan, and certainly any Will James fan. In his easy-going cowboy-talk vernacular, James tells it like it is (or in many cases, was), patiently explaining the ins and outs of cowboy life while giving the good parts a bit of a romantic glow and all the rest his dry, even-tempered humor.
Writing in the 1930s, fifty years after the cattle drives and open range, James argues that there's still plenty of wide open spaces for old-time cowboying, and while he is aware of the encroachments of 20th century mechanization, he makes a strong case for the old ways, the central role of horses in the cowboy's identity, and the enduring qualities of the cowboy code. The contents of the book are evenly balanced among those three themes.
Like he is writing for city-born novices, he patiently explains the many uses of the cowboy's gear: hat, chaps, boots, rope, slicker, and so on. I'm familiar with these subjects, but still I had never read before such a detailed accounting of the makeup and contents of the cowboy's bedroll (gatherings). I've also never read such a careful description of how to eat a meal sitting cross-legged on the ground.
There are many stories of horses of all kinds, especially the broncs that were hardest to break. At least a couple of them lay up the author with broken bones. There's a chapter devoted to cattle ("The Critter") and another about trekking with a small herd through a fierce winter blizzard ("On the Drift"). Another chapter gives a month-by-month description of the cowboy's year. James devotes another chapter to the rodeo, at a time before rodeo cowboys were organized into a professional organization that would protect their interests.
Writing fiction, James could go for the heartstrings, as in the sentimental story of brother horses, "Tom and Jerry," and the melodramatic account of a young outlaw who mends his ways, "Scattered Tracks." And the entire book is illustrated with James' wonderful illustrations of cowboys, horses, and cattle. Each is dated and range from the early 1920s to the 1930s. Thanks to the Will James Society of Billings, Montana, for keeping the books of this find cowboy writer and illustrator in print.
Writing in the 1930s, fifty years after the cattle drives and open range, James argues that there's still plenty of wide open spaces for old-time cowboying, and while he is aware of the encroachments of 20th century mechanization, he makes a strong case for the old ways, the central role of horses in the cowboy's identity, and the enduring qualities of the cowboy code. The contents of the book are evenly balanced among those three themes.
Like he is writing for city-born novices, he patiently explains the many uses of the cowboy's gear: hat, chaps, boots, rope, slicker, and so on. I'm familiar with these subjects, but still I had never read before such a detailed accounting of the makeup and contents of the cowboy's bedroll (gatherings). I've also never read such a careful description of how to eat a meal sitting cross-legged on the ground.
There are many stories of horses of all kinds, especially the broncs that were hardest to break. At least a couple of them lay up the author with broken bones. There's a chapter devoted to cattle ("The Critter") and another about trekking with a small herd through a fierce winter blizzard ("On the Drift"). Another chapter gives a month-by-month description of the cowboy's year. James devotes another chapter to the rodeo, at a time before rodeo cowboys were organized into a professional organization that would protect their interests.
Writing fiction, James could go for the heartstrings, as in the sentimental story of brother horses, "Tom and Jerry," and the melodramatic account of a young outlaw who mends his ways, "Scattered Tracks." And the entire book is illustrated with James' wonderful illustrations of cowboys, horses, and cattle. Each is dated and range from the early 1920s to the 1930s. Thanks to the Will James Society of Billings, Montana, for keeping the books of this find cowboy writer and illustrator in print.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews